Friday, January 31, 2014

It's hard to get past initial impressions, especially when it comes to band names. Even worse when you check the band's Facebook page and see that they've adopted a band logo. So, you gotta know, when I see a band named White Trash Blues Revival, I'm skeptical as all get out, already thinking "Oh, brother". But, credit is due Big Rock Candy Mountain. It was their description of the band that convinced me to listen. One selling point: homemade instruments. That's always good for keepin' it real. In this band's case, you've got the gutbucket (the thing with a broomstick, washtub and one string), a drummer banging on kegs, pans and whatnot, and a guitar player utilizing a lap steel made from a skateboard (see above). Wait, a skateboard?!? Why couldn't have been a cigar box, or something else more historically funky? Regardless, I'd already invested several seconds of my precious time reading the blurb, so I gave it a click, and you know what? This band with a stupid name and needless logo? They kick ass.

Big Rock Candy Mountain, the hosting blog, did several posts in a row, counting down their favorite records of 2013. Most, if not all, from independent labels, and the majority vaguely roots oriented. Some are a little cliché, but all are far from the wretched "indie band" pool. Click around, there's a lot of random rawness. Really, if you're going to do a "best of" post, this is the way to do it. Big fat bonus points for including my friend and yours, Reverend Tom Frost, at #14.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

This hurts. The Mighty Hannibal passed away today, at the age of 74. It was very sudden, so sudden that Norton Records' Billy Miller had just spoken to him this morning, saying he was "his usual upbeat self and all seemed fine". He'd been getting more attention in the past several years, due to a 2001 compilation of older material. And a few years ago, after performing with the Black Lips as his backing band, even the skinny jeans set began to buy in. For good reason. Just check "The Right to Love You" (below). That voice is gone.

This past month has been Mighty Hannibal Month over at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban, which is where I learned of his passing. They just posted a couple songs, one of which, "Hymn No. 5", is a personal favorite, due in no small part to his voice. That, and one of the best uses of a tambourine that I've ever heard. Check Ichiban's previous posts from January.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

There's power in the visual. The video below was one that I may have seen listed on YouTube and just breezed past. But that was before my friend, whom we shall call Lady Latimore, posted it with the comment "I was tired of this song for a couple decades, but - Lee Hazelwood on a horse." She's got a point. Just the sort of juxtaposition that can add a little weirdness to a song that already sounds like it could be repurposed for a movie scene with dark undercurrents (if it hasn't been already), but - Nancy Sinatra on anything.

Hazelwood was one multi-talented dude. Singer, songwriter, producer, and mustache. One of his earliest penned hits was "Rebel Rouser", recorded by twang demigod Duane Eddy. Yeah, you know I'm gonna find that an excuse to link to it. Why wouldn't I? Because it doesn't fit the post? Of course it fits the post. It fits every post. It's Duane Eddy's "Rebel Rouser" fool.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Pete Seeger passed away yesterday. Depending on your upbringing and your age, his name might not mean a thing. He was an American treasure, in the most pure, gloss free sense, the archetype of the American folk singer, the missing link between Woody Guthrie, Dylan, and the Occupy movement (which, contrary to common thought, still exists). Even if you know a few songs that he wrote, adapted from the writings of others, or dragged out of obscure American folk history and reintroduced to a music world hell bent on churning out one pop star after another, you may not have heard his music. Songs like "We Shall Overcome", "Turn, Turn, Turn", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" may all seem quaint to your ears, but if one person sings those songs, and others, for over sixty years, the meaning behind them sinks in to a few people.

There was a great quote today from a fan, who said of Seeger "He believed in the power of community, to stand up for what’s right, speak out against what’s wrong, and move this country closer to the America he knew we could be, Over the years, Pete used his voice, and his hammer, to strike blows for worker’s rights and civil rights; world peace and environmental conservation. And he always invited us to sing along." That quote is pretty dead on. The fan was Barack Obama.

If Seeger could dedicate his entire life fighting for ordinary folks like you and me, making the world a better place, and at the same time preserving America's musical history, I think we can take a day off from rock 'n' roll, soul, funk, reggae, rockabilly and what not. We are lucky that he lived a full active life up to the end. In October 21, 2011, at the age of 92, he joined the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators on a 36 block trek to Columbus Circle in NYC, and he did it walking with two canes. Just ten days before his death at age 94, do you know what he was doing? Chopping wood. Seeger was the real deal. Beyond hip, beyond cool. He was hardworking and humble. That, friends, is what baddass is.

Monday, January 27, 2014

I don't remember what issue of Kicks it was, but it was relatively early in their run. There was an issue that got passed around between me, my brother, and a couple friends. There were all sorts of bands in it that we had never heard of. It was cool. They kept going off about Chan Romero in this particular issue, in their hand lettered word balloons and other space fillers. We all wondered at the time, just who is this Chan Romero? It was the eighties, what do you do? There isn't a record store in town that has Chan Romero records. And, (gasp) there is no internet. All we had was a magazine, a name, and several people side prowling at thrift stores and yard sales. Flash forward to today. When was the last time anyone had to leave the house to look for anything? We're pathetic. But not Chan Romero. He kicks ass.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

I was just reminded by a thirty second commercial why Hasil Adkins is so essential. The commercial was for the Grammy Awards. Yeah. You know why I need the Haze. I need to have him on hand for the next few hours, just in case I butt dial the remote by accident. You can bet I'll need him again in a week, when all those half time show gush pieces start rolling.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

From the guys who brought you "Soulful Strut", here's one that's just kind of a throwaway, as in a easily conceived and executed. But it's cool nonetheless. I don't even know what to call it. It's not soul, or funk, or rock. But it sucks you in. It's just basic and repetitive, with few words. Flip Wilson meets the Monks? Not really. But that parlance with that repetitive thud. You might not hear it. It's kind of numbing, particularly after repeated listenings (recommended). I found it in the catacombs of De Discos y Monstruos. There's a lot of good stuff in their back pages.

It's 8:35 PM Pacific time in Calfornia right now. If you happen to live in North America and happen to catch this post in the next hour, there's two movies in a row featuring Bill Haley and the Comets, playing on Antenna TV. I'm pretty sure they run on regular airwaves, meaning without cable. Check their website for your location. The first movie, playing now on the West coast, is Rock Around the Clock. It's probably over on the East coast, but that's okay, because it's followed by Don't Knock the Rock.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Here's some good ol' fashioned "fuck" laced tirades, old school style, wherein a member of the old guard, in this case Buddy Rich, berates his younger band. There's a lot of cussin' going on, heavy on the f-bombs. A random line: "You’re all up there, fuckin’ high school, bullshit jive artists." In the one tirade that I tried counting, I lost track at about twenty seven "fucks". Seriously, dude's on the front lines of the Fuck Liberation Army. When it all comes down to it, it's just a word. It should carry no more weight or stigma than the word "fornicate". But it does. And Buddy Rich knows this, as do other foot soldiers. Which is why the artful cusser uses it liberally for flavor. It's cheap ammo. Avoiding the cutesy "fuckin' fuck" and the conceding "fuck you" (which pretty much translates as "I got nothin'"), demonstrating a chef's deftness, seasoning to taste.

There's one of Rich's tirades below, just as a preview. You really should go to the hosting page, they have four in all, audio and transcribed text, so you can follow along in the muddy parts. Plus a comment from a former band member attesting to his nice guy side. "Big Swing Face" is down there because that title rules. It has a nice ring to it.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

If you rented cult movie videos on VHS, in the pre-digital days, you'll likely recognize "The Hell Raisers" by Syd Bale. Even if you never rented Another Day, Another Man, the film that includes it in its soundtrack. If you were into cult movies, you likely rented a release from Something Weird Video at one time or another. They reissued a lot of grindhouse type stuff, and exploitations of this or that. They used "The Hell Raisers" extensively in their teasers, and later when everything went to DVD, for the background music on menu screens, The song in its entirety swings. Really, it does. It's worthy of a post by itself, but while we're on the subject of Something Weird Video, it bears mentioning that the founder, Mike Vraney, just passed away a few weeks ago, on January 2. It's notable because, if you were around in the pre-digital era, you'd appreciate what a effort it would have been for a person to round up the catalog of offbeat titles that Vraney did. There's a great tribute over at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban, and visit Something Weird, to check out some weird things.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Hell yeah, Sharon Jones is back! In what has to be the feel good story of the year, at least in soul circles, Jones has apparently beat cancer, diagnosed earlier this year. It pushed back the release of her latest Give The People What They Want until just a couple weeks ago. Now, she and her band, the almighty Dap-Kings, take the stage again, starting on February 6. Now the real gushing: If you haven't had the chance to see Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings but get an opportunity, I would strongly advise you make it a priority. They're touring the East coast in February, but they'll make the rounds. I saw them a few years ago and it wasn't just the best show I've seen in a decade, it's among the best I've ever seen; and I'm no spring chicken so I've seen a lot.

Here's one song off the new one and a video for another. The video's cool. Jones is bald, presumably from the cancer treatment. That means she either did the video while she had cancer, or after she beat it. Either way it's remarkable. If you don't know her story, check out the Wikipedia entry, and the one at Daptone Records. She was already a feel good story ten years ago, and that was feel good enough. This is like some sort of feel good OD. We could all use some of that.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

If anyone ever needed an indication that a gazillion music choices available at the click of a finger is not necessarily better, all they'd have to do is take a look at the chart above, from the KRLA Beat in May of 1966. Keep in mind, this chart is for an AM radio station, something you could tune into with the cheapest possible audio equipment. Yeah, you've got some regular everyday chart busters on there, but what chart busters they were. The Stones, James Brown, Sam and Dave, a Phil Spector produced "River Deep Mountain High" by Ike & Tina Turner, along with lighter weight stuff. Good shit, I think you'd agree. But, holy deep tracks Batman, look closer, there's a pre-Pet Sounds "Caroline No" credited to just Brian Wilson, and at number 7, Love's "My Little Red Book". Jimmy Smith? Jimmy Smith! His "Got My Mojo Workin'" is climbing, from #32 to #27, making room for a new entry at #30, Captain Beefheart's "Diddy Wah Diddy". Lest you think it's heavily weighted toward California groups, what you don't see in that cropped version is another version of "Diddy Wah Diddy" at #34, by the Remains, from Boston

This chart came from a scanned copy of the KRLA Beat, which you can see in detail, via a pdf, at this page. You'll want to check this particular issue, there's a full page collage of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable at the Hollywood club, The Trip. No photos of the Velvets (Nico's in one), but lots of interesting quotes about the event. Barry "Eve of Destruction" McGuire says "The Velvet Underground should go back underground and practice". Ryan O'Neal, who is also seen doing what appears to be the robot, says "I'm glad I have short hair". Oh jeez, we are thankful as hell. Glad you could make it.

Do yourself a favor. Bookmark this page. There's over thirty issues. Budget a bunch of time. Click on the small images to open pdfs. This shit is rich.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Here's an oddball. A version of Sly and the Family Stone's "Dance to the Music" in French, by the French Fries. The French Fries actually were Sly and the Family Stone, releasing a version for the French market and taking the opportunity to totally fuck with the song. The rhythm is about all that stays the same, the rest is just a full freakout. Even if you've heard the original to the point of exhaustion, you'll want to check this version. Guitar way up front, crazy fuzz on that, weird keyboards comin' and going, hardly any vocals. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall and hear how this sucker happened. What kills me is that, even though this is not at all reggae, the thought process behind it is the same as dub versions in reggae. That's right Chief, it's the old "let's just fuck with this" trick.

The hosting blog, Moistworks has another French Fries cut that isn't quite as listenable, but just as unexpected.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

I had the player on shuffle the other day and had to stop for a second. I had completely forgotten how good Billy Zoom's cover of Ray Charles's "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" was. It doesn't deviate much from Eddie Cochran's version, which is why I was taken aback, because it's sooo close, you'd be tempted to think it was a live recording of Cochran's. It's that good.

Zoom, for you pea greens that don't know, was/is the guitarist for X, and even before that had some serious cred. He played for a brief period with Gene Vincent (shortly before Vincent passed away), and with Big Joe Turner and Etta James. Just a couple years before X, he recorded some really good stuff for Rollin' Rock (the same label mentioned a couple days ago in the Mac Curtis thing).

Zoom's day job: serious tube amp geek

The Zoom cuts below come from his web site, and, if you dig these, you should check it out. There's a few others, including a cover of Johnny Carroll's "Crazy, Crazy Lovin'", and a whole set (43 minutes) with Mark Neil in his band. Neil is the guy who produced the Black Keys' Brothers LP, amongst a lot of lower profile stuff, and he's no slouch on the guitar himself. The recording on that one's not as good as the others, but you get to hear Zoom doing double duty on sax (Note: The links at his site aren't highlighted or underlined. Just click on the song titles. On the last one, the set with Neil, click on "Billy Zoom Band - 2005".)

Friday, January 17, 2014

Billy Haley and the Comets may have rocked the plaid harder, but Jimmy Cavello and the House Rockers get points for getting to the meat of the matter. Rock, rock, rock, fool. And when you're done with that, throw in three rolls.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Holy shit, how could I have not posted anything by Mac Curtis? He was another rockabilly singer that most people haven't heard of, and he wasn't all that prolific, but to fiends of the genre he's practically a household name thanks in no small part to rockabilly compilations and Rollin' Rock, the little L.A. record label that almost single-handedly kept U.S. rockabilly alive in the pre-revival seventies (check "Pistol Packin' Mama" below, a 1978 Rollin' Rock 45). Curtis passed away in September, from complications after a car accident Sadly, there was hardly a peep in the music press.

Some of you may know these songs like the back of your hand. I gotta thank Diddy Wah for his recent posting of "If I Had Me A Woman". It reminded me of a favorite that's been buried away ("it's around here someplace") for a long time. That was his first record, recorded when he was just seventeen. Get this, even at that young age, he'd had a school show shut down because of suggestive moves.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

And here I thought all current garage related music was of the loud Orange amp turn it up to eleven variety. Let's hear it for time machines. Particularly for the one that dropped this current crop of Aussies, the Frowning Clouds, into 1980s San Diego instead of 1966 Los Angeles. That's a good thing, the San Diego garage bands from the 1980s already had that L.A. trip booked. Hey, it's a time machine. You can criss-cross all over the place in those things.

Found the mix below at Nitro-Retro. They compare them to the Gravedigger V's first LP, and I have to agree, though I haven't really been paying attention. Dude just saved me twenty years of backlogging.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Man, don't know what to make of this nut. I don't know anyhing about him. I ran into the cover above by total chance, and was curious. I know absolutely nothing about his background, but something tells me that I'm really late to the party. I've only heard those two songs below. You'll either love it or hate it.

Let me set the scene. There's Eno and Cornelius just hanging out, throwing back some tall cool ones and smoking some bowls. Cornelius takes a big ol' hit. Between coughs, he says "Dude (cough), you gotta hear this Chico shit", leans over and puts on "Pop Pull Hair". Neither says a word, for two and a half minutes. When the song ends, Eno says "Good shit. We should totally steal it."

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Here's the situation. It's 1966. Batman is on TV, so is Green Hornet. And Davie Allan? He's on fuzz. And he also has a minor hit on the radio, called "Blue's Theme" that features, as most of his music does, said fuzz. So you're a frustrated guitarist watching all of this, wanting to make a name for yourself, playing club dates behind a marginally successful singer. So what do you do? You throw all of the shit in a blender, and write an instrumental called "Hornet's Nest" that'll show ol' Davie Allan a thing or two about ape shit guitar.

"Hornet's Nest" is from a 1966 Curtis Knight 45, and one of Hendrix's earliest songwriting credits. Listen to the chops on this one, you can hear it all, including, dare I say, a touch of Dick Dale. This is Hendrix trying hard to be heard.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Hey, I don't know about you, but the beginning of each month means two things for me: pay the rent, and stop by Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban to see who their artist of the month is. Sometimes they may just have a few posts featuring the artist during the course of the month but often it's a big fat deluge. I'm hoping that's the case this time because it's Mighty Hannibal month. They started with a video of "Jerkin' the Dog" from some old TV show. It's one piece of work. I'm not going to ruin it for you, just go there to see it. The song is below, but you really need to check the video first. There's a couple other songs below, just don't look for the "Hymn No 5" (pictured above). As good as that one is, I'm sure they've got it coming up. Really, you ought to bookmark that page. They got it goin' on.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Holy bejesus, it still happens. Out of nowhere, a genuine humdinger. Click on a random blog on someone's link list, it takes you to a site with a 45 by an artist you've never heard of. What the hell, the label is Specialty, home to Little Richard's finest sides, ditto Don and Dewey, along with Guitar Slim, Lloyd Price and others, so, you know, how much effort does it take? One click. That was the best decision I made all week.

This sucker was recorded by a seventeen year old kid, Jerry Byrne, who was the cousin of Mac Rebennack (Dr. John). They were in a band together, the Loafers, when Byrne jumped on stage at a Little Richard show and finished the song with Richard, thus impressing Specialty Record's A&R hound Harold Battiste who got him signed within a week of the incident. Enough of this jibba jabba. Check this house wrecker, featuring a most smokin' piano solo by Art Neville.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

I happened to be in North County today, driving through a wooded area. Grabbed a random CD and put it in, and Burning Spear's "Marcus Garvey" came blaring out. It was of those rare unions of mood, place and soundtrack that comes out of nowhere. May you be so lucky.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

I can appreciated a good cover as much as anyone, and a good effort goes a long way, particularly one that deviates from the sound of the original. But there are certain songs that you just don't want to fuck with. For instance, there's a thousand Chuck Berry songs. Why would you do a cover of "Johnny B. Goode"? Likewise, with the Kinks "You Really Got Me". It just makes me want to hear the Kinks, and loud. So that's what I did after hearing some of the covers of "You Really Got Me" that were posted at Cover Me. I got all amped when I say a Toots and the Maytals cover included, but after hearing it came away wanting to hear some regular tempo Toots, a litlle less of the ska hyperness. The other covers include a Sly Stone demo, a surprisingly not bad slightly funky version by Robert Palmer, and one by 801, a Phil Manzenera/Eno joint. The only one I didn't check out was by Oingo Boingo, because I just hate that band. I know Danny Elfman has done some respectable soundtrack work, but I hate his band. Cue Kinks.

Monday, January 6, 2014

This is not something I'd normally do, posting two versions of the same song by the same band in successive days. But, I don't care. I'm a wild man. I use two paper towels to dry one hand. Besides, there's a reason. I'm rarely listening to lyrics, the first couple of times I hear a song. You know, kind of just checking out the whole package. So, last night, the true weight of the lyrics to Mudhoney's "Chardonnay" didn't sink in, and I feel guilty for being so indifferent. Today when I was listening more closely, I heard a message that deserved to be revisited, it was that important. So, here's another in-studio version of "Chardonnay", this time recorded at KEXP, in Seattle. And below are the lyrics, if you'd like to paste them in your scrapbook.

You've always been the critics' darlingAnd a hit at all the fancy partiesBut for me, man you don't do nothingI see through your charadeI hate you ChardonnayYou're the grape that launched a thousand strippersThe soccer mom's favorite sipperI can't think of anything sickerGet the fuck out of my backstageI hate you ChardonnayI hate you ChardonnayI hate you ChardonnayI hate you ChardonnayI see through your charadeI hate you Chardonnay

Sunday, January 5, 2014

As people in online forums like to say "I'll just put this here". It's an in-studio mini-set by Mudhoney, recorded at the WFMU studios. The sound is pretty damn good too, check the teaser below. I gotta say, they sound like they still have it. For all six songs go to the page at the Free Music Archives. Once there, click on the arrow next to the "+" to download the individual mp3s, or
the arrow at the bottom of the song list to get them all in one package.

The unassuming looking guy above is Don Letts, a DJ, filmmaker, and musician, and, this is important, the person most responsible for turning UK punks onto reggae. He was the DJ at the Roxy in London when they they were booking a lot of punk bands. At the time (1976-77), there was very little new punk on vinyl, so Letts played what he knew, reggae. The common thought was that reggae was another sort of rebel music, thereby allied with punk. In the overall scheme of things all of that matters, but the real reason for this post is to hep you to Letts's documentary about punk rock, Punk: Attitude. Someone just posted the whole thing on YouTube and it's probably the most definitive take there is on the subject.

Letts was there, as a participant and observer, but it isn't just his version of history. In the film he nabs interviews with a who's who of punk affiliated personalities. In just the first few minutes there's John Cale, David Johansen, Wayne Kramer, John Sinclair, Glenn Branca, Thurston Moore, Jello Biafra, and Henry Rollins. It's a chronological verbal history, dotted with rare footage, and it is thorough. If the link below is dead, which is often the case when full-length videos are posted, just do a search at YouTube and you're bound to come up with some teasers. Regardless, it's worth laying out the dough because the DVD comes with another disc of short docs, among them one on women in punk, and another excellent take on the West Coast scene.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Phil Everly passed away yesterday. It's now official, we'll never hear the sweet harmonies of the Everly Brothers sung live again. Not that there was a possibility to begin with. Between their age and their spats, it's unlikely that we would have. But, shit folks, this is a sad day. Theirs was a pair of voices that has never been duplicated, despite many, many attempts. There was just something so organic about their voices together. I'm no vocal expert, and I know there's some mumbo jumbo about their vocal ranges being ever so slightly different that made them work so well together, but even an untrained ear can hear something intrinsically beautiful about those voices going off at the same time. They were a genre in and of itself. It didn't just work, it was a template for everyone who sang harmonies that came after them, in rock 'n' roll, country, folk, you name it, a sound that transcended cool, other worldly in its balance. And all along the way, they seemed like they were just two brothers singing in a school talent competition in front of their proud parents, two brothers that just ran with it.

The 1983 reunion concert. Timeless.

Phil Everly said it best himself, in 1986, "Don and I are infamous for our split, but we're closer than most brothers. Harmony singing requires that you
enlarge yourself, not use any kind of suppression. Harmony is the
ultimate love."

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Here's an oddball. The Godfather of Soul and the Georgia Peach appearing together on, get this, Wheel of Fortune, and weirder, playing as a team. I haven't seen that show that much, but I didn't know they allowed teams, but I guess when you're playing against juggernauts Lee Greenwood and Weird Al Yankovic, you get a pass. It's just bizarre seeing James Brown say "Let's take an R". You could lay that line on a JBs track and stretch it out into one of those Parts 1 & 2 45 flips.

Hey, can somebody please tell me why the hell you would buy an vowel when the puzzle, as seen above, still has consonants left? Am I missing something? Chuck Berry would have guessed it right there, on impulse. Jerry Lee would have racked that shit up and used every consonant he could. Regardless, it's great to see these two together. This is just the highlights, all featuring the two all-timers. Ponder their combined discographies. Consider their combined egos. Now see them unguarded and genuine, humbled by the wheel.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Were you getting all kinds of nuts last night? Dragging a little today? Spend the day on the couch? That's why seasoned pros call it amateur's night. Pacing is everything. Just don't forget that the next time. Even if you swear there won't be, believe me there will. So, if you are hurting, if I was you I'd duck out of that first song below before it hits the :42 second mark. (If you have a hungover roommate and are one for cheap kicks, play that part loud.) The song is "Hung Over" by the Martinis, featuring Packy Axton, who knew a thing or two about partying. He was the son of Stax Record's co-founder Estelle Axton, and his wooping it up was a determining factor in his not so graceful exit from the Stax stable, and that was a big deal because besides being the son of one of the owners, he was a member of the Mar-Keys, who gave the label one of their first big hits, "Last Night".

The others down there are other post-Stax bands that Axton was in. He died at 32 in 1974, reportedly from cirrhosis of the liver. Consider that a lesson from a dead man.

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